Murderer
by Rose Black Dragon
Summary: One shot. He made a decision which broke his heart. But, it was the correct one? You will be the ones who will judge if he was right or wrong...


**This one is the story I promised to post later, the one I titled "Asesino" in Spanish. Please enjoy. Thank you so much once again DarkUnderworld. What have I done to have someone as incredible as you, to help me? :D It is because of your help that everyone will enjoy this story without seeing any mistakes. XD**

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**::::: Murderer :::::**

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Donatello's body crashed against one of the infirmary's walls due to the force of a kick given to him by his big brother Raphael. Before his body could fall to the floor, due to gravity, the air was knocked out of his lungs due to the strong impact. Only a painful moan came out from his mouth, the beating his brother in red was giving him had started a few minutes ago. The young genius couldn't endure the assault anymore. When his head almost touched the floor one of the hefty hands of his brother in red grabbed him firmly by his neck, lifting him up from the floor, suffocating him.

"YOU ARE A MURDERER!" The brawny turtle yelled out at him, it was a scream filled with disbelief and pain. Donatello was struggling, trying to loosen the strong grip wrapped around his neck, but he couldn't. Raphael's face was twisted by the dark, heavy feelings overwhelming his spirit.

The strongest of the turtle brothers continued to punch the smartest's face without mercy. Again and again Raphael's fist collided with Donatello's battered and bruised face. Not even the weak attempts of the genius turtle trying to defend himself could inspire even a small amount of pity in the furious heart of the one who was accusing him of that horrendous crime.

Leonardo, the eldest brother, didn't attempt to defend his little brother. The young leader shared the same opinion as Raphael, those very words were echoing inside his heart's depths. Donatello was a murderer. Just as his hot headed brother, Leonardo's face was full of grief, his eyes full of tears that streamed relentlessly down his pale cheeks.

The reason?

Michelangelo had been murdered.

Leonardo was just staring the corpse of his baby brother which was lain on one of the infirmary's beds. Not even the tender smile that was drawn upon the mischievous turtle's face - the one he had left as a goodbye smile for his big brothers - could give the eldest any comfort.

Leonardo couldn't believe Donatello had had the courage to deprive his best friend of life. The smartest turtle had done it by his own conviction, stealing his big brothers' opportunity to say goodbye. If Master Splinter would have been with them, he would have reproached his calmest son's action too.

Leonardo's hands reflected a forced resignation but he grabbed one of his baby brother's hands and squeezed it gently, trying to get a reaction, but nothing happened. Reality was too cruel, the youngest of his beloved little brothers had passed away.

An anguish sigh was the only audible expression of the deep pain that was eating away at Leonardo's soul. How it had been possible that such a brutal act had happened to his baby brother; someone whose only sin in life had been eating too many desserts? With the strength of the rough water, the desire to punish the culprit filled the young leader's spirit. But the compassion also appeared when he saw how badly Donatello was being beaten.

"Raphael... that's enough... Michelangelo won't come back to life even if you keep beating him..." Leonardo told Raphael with a convincing voice.

Raphael stopped punching and kicking Donatello who was lying on the floor trembling because of the pain.

Raphael's hands were covered with the blood of his genius brother. After looking at the turtle who was at his feet with disdain - the one he used to call "brother" - Raphael approached his baby brother's corpse. The emerald skinned warrior couldn't hold back his pain anymore and fell down onto his baby brother's dead body. Unlike Leonardo, Raphael let out strong wails of pain while he was desperately embracing his baby brother; or what was left of him.

Leonardo, after kissing Michelangelo's forehead, approached Donatello. Without hate, but full of disappointment he told him: "You have destroyed the blind trust we had in you, Donatello. You have murdered Mikey, I won't forgive that you have deprived us of the last minutes of his existence. You had no right to do that." Leonardo stopped talking for a minute, but he went on, clenching his fists.

"The reasons you have mentioned would be good in appearance... but listen to me and listen well. Nobody in this world has the right of depriving someone from his life, nobody. You never took into account that Mikey may still have had his will to live intact inside of him; you didn't respect it. You imposed your own will upon him, you never stopped to think - not even for a second - that maybe he wanted to keep on living in spite of pain, in spite of his suffering..."

"Even knowing what you have done, I don't want you to abandon our home, Donatello. Mikey wouldn't have liked for us to be separated. But from now on I am sure the bonds that we shared won't ever be the same again, because you have severed them yourself."

The eldest brother didn't have anything else to say; another word would have sounded superfluous. Besides, the tears that were streaming from the bruised eyes of his smartest brother made him feel a little more of compassion towards him. After uttering those words Leonardo got close to Raphael who separated himself from the body of his baby brother to embrace his big brother with desperation.

Feeling the heavy burden he shared with the brother who also was his best friend, Leonardo whispered: "Cry until your heart is content Raph, even the most brave of hearts has a lot of tears to shed after hearing such horrible news. Today we have lost our source of happiness on Earth. Some day we will see him again when the time comes to say goodbye to this world."

While Leonardo was crying alongside Raphael, Donatello was trying to get up from the floor, but he only managed to lean his shell against the wall, moving himself into a sitting position.

Everything was true; he had ended the life of the youngest of the group. Strangely, he didn't regret having done that. He was completely convinced that he had done the right thing, even though it hurt him, even though he had lost his beloved baby brother, and even though his two big brothers condemned him, he knew that when he had lost his playmate he had lost the rest of his family and his friends as well.

The only thing he could expect from that moment on, was a future where he was surrounded by several persons, but which in reality, one where he would be completely alone.

The ordeal had begun when the guys came back from his travel through space, after they met Traximus...

**Flashback, Donatello's POV.**

When we had come back from our travel through space to realize the Utroms were actually our allies, we would have never imagined that one of us was coming back home infected with a deadly disease which at the beginning, we believed it only to be a bad flu. We were so wrong!

Somehow, sometime, my baby brother had been infected with one of the most lethal viruses of that planet. Mikey's luck got worse in that the aforementioned virus, inside the mutated body of my baby brother, had mutated as well, becoming even more dangerous. The only good news we had was that the virus wasn't contagious anymore after its mutation. At least we still were able to offer Mikey all the help and the consolation he needed every time the horrible waves of excruciating pain attacked him.

Before our eyes and without us being able to do anything, our little brother got worse bit by bit. I knew that the pain killers to reduce his suffering would end up not having any effect because Mikey's body was slowly building up a tolerance to them. Mikey never showed his fear even though his body began to attack itself; he always showed us his most beautiful smile. He never stopped offering us the light of his heart, his love and his joy.

The pain Mikey was enduring had increased in intensity until it became unbearable. The pain didn't allow him to eat or rest. I kept watch over him and I always made sure to inject him with the pain killer just before he went to sleep, that way he could enjoy a few hours of real rest. But the number of hours began to diminish until two hours of sleep a night was all he was able to rest without feeling pain.

At the beginning Mikey ate everything I served him, he knew he would have to use every bit of strength he could store up to fight against the strange disease he had. But eventually Mikey lost his appetite, and a day came when he could only eat just a couple of bites and a few sips of water because the suffering never stopped torturing him.

I was taking care of my baby brother alone because Leonardo and Raphael had traveled. Leonardo went to the dimension of the Battle Nexus and Raphael went to another planet, both of them were looking for a cure. All of the news I got from my older brothers during that time were disheartening. Nobody knew a cure for the strange virus, all the victims of it, without exception, had faced a horrible death after enduring some months of cruel suffering. The hope within our hearts was growing weak day by day at thinking that we would have to live in a world where our baby brother was no more.

The last news I got from my brothers weren't any better than the last ones. The old Daymio, thanks to Leonardo, was looking for a great doctor in every dimension he knew, but none of them could give him a solution. Traximus was doing the same as the Daymio, thanks to Raphael, they were looking for a doctor in every planet in search for a cure, but they weren't lucky either.

My brothers, after two months of fruitless efforts, had decided to come back home. They wanted to spend some time with our baby brother before going on with the search, but I knew it wouldn't be successful. I am also a scientists and the doctor of my family, I had also studied the virus during that time. That tiny being was perfectly formed, its beauty, functionally speaking, could only be compared to its ferocity when it was spreading. After running numerous tests, the evidence was too obvious, there wasn't a cure.

All of the doctors, who my brothers had been talking with, had given them the same answers, the same descriptions of the arduous and difficult future my baby brother would have to endure. Without a cure, Mikey's body would suffer the deterioration of all of its organs. That meant that Mikey would suffer from excruciating pain, and the only thing we could do for him was to pray for him to have a quick death... and that was precisely what I gave him.

I gave him the only thing that was within my reach to stop his suffering; I gave him the opportunity to not have to keep enduring that terrible pain; I gave him the relief he hadn't had in the last few weeks.

Since my baby brother's condition had become worse, he didn't stop clenching his teeth to avoid letting out a scream, he didn't want us to get worried even more. His hands squeezed the blanket that was covering him, he was trying to catch his breath after feeling the waves of pain. He clenched his eyes too, and he kept them that way most of the time; he didn't want us to see the sadness and the pain reflected in them.

I perfectly remember that after the conversation with our big brothers, they told me that they would come back home for a couple of days. They hadn't witnessed the evolution of the disease, they hadn't witnessed the decay of Mikey's health, they only knew about it because of my observations I told them about in our conversations when they called me to see how Mikey was doing.

I don't want to be resentful of my big brothers, after all I was the only one who could take care of Mikey in my brothers' absence, but they weren't here seeing how our baby brother was wasting away with that disease, bit by bit. They hadn't heard the painful wails when he was fighting to not give up before the sharp pain; they weren't here constantly watching him, looking at how he was shedding tears of fear when he thought he was completely alone.

My little brother couldn't eat or sleep or get enough rest to rebuild his spirit; the strength he needed to go on fighting, to live. That's why, before our big brothers' arrival, I made the hardest decision of my entire life.

I didn't want Mikey to endure two or three more months of excruciating pain, not even one more second... I don't know how I gathered my strength to change the pain killer for a poison of which subtle effect would achieve that the heart of my baby brother would stop beating while it was easing his suffering, without making him feel more pain; his torture would end. No more pain, no more fear, no more pretending...

After filling the syringe, I slowly approached the bed, Mikey looked at me and smiled even though his physical discomfort. He thought he would enjoy a couple of hours of peace before having to endure his torture once again.

Very gently I inserted the needle in one of the veins of Mikey's arm. When I tried to feign serenity before him I forced myself to gather all my intellect to not freak him out. Little by little, the poison traveled through my baby brother's bloodstream. Each second which passed by, Mikey's hard grip on the blanket that was wrapping him was gradually loosened, he began to breathe calmly. He opened his eyes and looked at me and smiled... for the last time...

That distressing thought betrayed me, two heavy tears ran down my cheeks. At seeing them Mikey told me in a calm, sweet voice: "Don't cry Donnie, I feel better already. You know? I have never told you that I love you as often as I would like, I think that from now on, I will tell you those words everyday..."

Upon hearing those beautiful words coming out from Mikey's lips, I began sobbing...

"I miss Raph and Leo... I hope they come back home soon..."

I bit my lips to avoid showing my true feelings Mikey's shiny eyes began to get opaque as his voice began to sound weaker.

"I want to eat some cake tomorrow, it has been a while since the last time I ate it..."

I felt like I was going to stop breathing when I realized Mikey's body was languishing...

"I feel much... better... thanks, Donnie..."

I felt how my heart skipped a beat when I saw how Mikey was closing his eyes, and would not open them anymore...

"I love you Donnie... and Raph... and Le-o..."

As soon as those sweet eyes were closed, Mikey's head rolled heavily to one side against his pillow. It was done, Mikey, my mischievous, beloved brother was gone. I wanted to scream, I wanted to curse, I wanted to keep on thinking I had done the right thing, but I couldn't avoid biting my lips until I bled. I didn't wish to allow myself commit the sacrilege of disturbing the calmness of the beginning of the journey to eternity of a being as special as him.

Several minutes later I couldn't bear it anymore, I came out of the infirmary and gave free rein to my pain, and to my hate towards myself for having done such a thing. The only witnesses of my screams and tears were the walls of my home, walls that were saturated with misery and desperation. However, I felt happy to know that Mikey didn't have to endure one more second of a meaningless torment, of a cruel suffering, of a punishment he didn't deserve.

As always time is unyielding. It didn't treat me with consideration, even though I was suffering the deepest pain. My big brothers arrived home, they found me still crying. When they saw me they imagined the worse, they ran towards the infirmary, but I stopped them. I yelled them to wait, I told them I had something very important to tell them.

Although they were anxious to see our baby brother, both of them obeyed me and stood there until I approached them to speak with them. I entered the infirmary before they could do it. I had forgotten to cover Mikey's face, so for just one second my brothers thought Mikey was still with us. Their faces showed their feelings of relief, the guilt punched me hard at knowing that I had exposed them to a false hope.

Before they got close to Mikey, I told them the truth. I will never forget their glances when I told them that our baby brother had passed away a hours ago. Destiny was merciful with me for the last time, my brothers wrapped me with their arms. We were as one, during my last moments enjoying having a family. But the moment I feared the most came, Leo asked me what had happened.

I don't know how to lie. Besides, they deserved to know the whole truth. Both of them looked at me puzzled when I mentioned them I was the one to blame for Mikey's death. I explained them my reasons for having done it, but I knew that my brothers' hearts would be greatly wounded to hear any explanation on the reason for my actions. I couldn't blame them, I couldn't forgive myself either.

Before I could go on, I felt Raphael's fury. This could sound strange but I wanted to feel it, I wanted to begin atoning for my crime. Each one of Raph's punches made me feel better (on) the inside, but a moment came when my survival instinct woke up. I tried to defend myself, but it was too late, I was too battered to do that. Just when I thought I was going to lose consciousness, Leo interceded and the attacks ceased.

After hearing Leo's words I knew I had lost my big brothers too. It was my punishment, but I would have renounced everything in this world for helping Mikey. I hope my baby brother can forgive me, from his well deserved place in heaven. I prayed with all my heart that the pain I had inflicted upon my two big brothers would disappear soon when I saw them crying.

**End of Flashback.**

Leonardo and Raphael decided to take care of Mikey's body. They wrapped their baby brother's corpse into the blanket that was covering him. They didn't worry in the least about the little brother they still had, the little brother who they were leaving behind to his own luck for some time.

Raphael came out of the infirmary and the lair carrying Mikey's body. Leonardo approached Donatello and told him what they were going to do: "We are going to Casey's farm house to bury Mikey, we will be back in a week." Brief, direct and cold. Donatello had never heard his big brother's voice addressing him like that. Leonardo followed Raphael after uttering those words.

Donatello only could nod weakly. A few minutes had passed by since his brothers' departure, but the solitude had begun to take its toll to the young genius' spirit. He was completely alone, and alone he had to face his inner demons.

For several hours Donatello remained sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. Every tear that was coming out from his reddened eyes were mixing with the blood which was staining his face and kept rolling down his cheeks until they fell onto his chest.

After spending all that time crying, Donatello rose painfully from the floor. Some of his bruises made him feel a sharp pain; he clenched his teeth and closed his eyes hard to gather enough strength to go on with his task. Placing a hand on the wall, he managed to get up.

He didn't bother to look after his bruises, it didn't matter if he felt that one of the bones of his right arm was broken either. He just had one idea inside his mind. Walking slowly, he made his way to his baby brother's bedroom.

Having done this, he looked around. Each one of the objects inside the room had awakened a happy memory in Donatello's mind. He smiled, but the melancholy was filling the smile which had widened his lips. Maybe his little brother was gone, but he had left a generous provision of happiness to the brothers who had taken care of him, the brothers who had protected him, the brothers he admired so much, the brothers who had dedicated a long time to find a cure for him, looking for that cure in every place they knew.

Donatello fell down to the floor. The young genius was begging to Death to help him. He wanted so much to follow the little brother he had just lost, but it was Sleep who took up the call. Death is incorruptible; there is no lament or prayer that can stop its work when it has to fulfill its duty. Neither can anyone force it to do something when it knows it mustn't interfere. That's why Sleep is the one who goes to the heartbroken soul's aid.

Hours went by before Donatello could wake up; hours in which he enjoyed in a comforting oblivion. When he finally opened his eyes, reality hit him with full force. The thought of ending his life painfully appeared inside his mind. Without doubting, not even for a second, he promised to himself not to leave that room.

The young genius had lost all sense of time. He dedicated the last moments of his existence to remembering all of the happy moments he had shared with Michelangelo. He was lying on the floor ignoring the hunger and the thirst he was feeling. The starvation and the dehydration began to drive him slowly towards his death.

His moments of lucidity began to be more and more limited. The burning thirst and the pangs of hunger had been bothering him, did so no more. They had vanished two days ago, he couldn't feel them anymore. He only could remember he hadn't drank any water when he was trying to smile. Then it was that he felt his parched lips and his dry throat. He was having a hard time trying to stay awake; his body reminding him that he hadn't enough reserves of energy to do so.

One day while he had his glance fixed on one of Mikey's toys, he realized someone was opening the bedroom's door, he didn't turn his head to see who it was, not because he didn't want to do it but he didn't do it because he was too weak, he didn't had enough strength to even get up from the floor.

For just a few seconds he thought his two big brothers had returned from Casey's farm. But he knew he was wrong when he only saw a lonely shadow which approached him and knelt next to him. Making a great effort to focus his gaze, Donatello realized that the shadowy figure had two large blue eyes framed by a orange bandana.

Donatello thought: "I can't believe it, I am in heaven, the angel who has come to welcome me is the same I dared to steal from my big brothers.

"No Donnie, you still belong to the world of living beings. The time for you to abandon this world hasn't come yet." The kind vision whispered in the ear of the young genius. "I have come to tell you that you must live, you have an important mission to fulfill. What will happen to our brothers if you die? They will blame themselves for the rest of their lives."

"They hate me... I also hate myself." Donatello murmured in a heartbreaking voice, maybe he would have shed some tears if he had actually had any to spare. "I murdered you..."

"But you freed me. You gave me what life was denying me. I didn't have any more to do in this world and my fate was sealed. Besides, Leo and Raph don't hate you; soon you will realize that what they have done to you was only due the pain they were feeling..." The vision said in a voice full of sweetness, trying to soothe the brother who had had the courage to spare him more suffering. "I really appreciate what you did for me, Bro. To help you avoid blaming yourself, I have also come to tell you that I love you and I forgive you."

Donatello closed his eyes for an instant feeling at the same time how a pair of warm hands were touching his forehead and his chest, filling his heart with an immense peace. After that Donatello knew no more.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

A week had passed since Donatello had decided to let himself die. Leonardo and Raphael had come just in time to save the life of the little brother they had treated so cruelly despite the fact that he was also suffering the loss of their baby brother.

When Donatello was out of danger and his body was stabilized, he opened his eyes. His glance after surveying the place, met his oldest brother's loving look.

"Leo..." Donatello murmured weakly.

"Don't exert yourself, Donnie, you are still weak." His big brother told him, and tucked the blanket up to the throat of the little genius.

Despite his big brother's advice, Donatello forced himself to ask one question he wanted to obtain a quick answer as he couldn't wait one more second to know it. "Do you still hate me?"

At hearing the question, Leonardo closed his eyes tightly. The oldest turtle opened his eyes again to look at his little brother with a glance full of understanding, full of love and that were begging him the forgiveness at the same time.

"Donnie... I... us... we have never hated you." Leonardo began, his voice broken with emotion. "I know we treated you cruelly, but we have never hated you, ever." The big brother said, as he was stroking tenderly his little brother's forehead.

Donatello, upon seeing and feeling once again the deep love of his big brother, let out a soft sigh of happiness along with several tears. Before he could ask something else, Raphael came into the infirmary. But the ninja in red stopped in the infirmary's door when he realized his little brother was conscious once again. Donatello smiled when he saw Raphael. Leonardo indicated Raphael to come closer.

After a few seconds of indecision, Raphael came closer to the bed where his little brother was resting. Donatello asked first: "Have you forgiven me, Raph?" And anxiously waited for the reply.

"It is you who should have to forgive us, Donnie." The strongest of the brothers said with strong conviction of the wrongness of his past actions. "We behaved like some freaking idiots."

Donatello smiled greatly relieved.

After many minutes of complete silence, Donatello shared his thoughts: "Mikey... he... before he left... he said... that he loved us." That was the cue for everyone to have a second chance to cry together over the loss of their baby brother.

Those three hearts connected by tragedy could see that the mettle of their souls and the strength of their bond of fraternal love they shared was growing bigger thanks to the last words the youngest among them had uttered in his last moments of life; before exhaling his last breath which gave testimony to his pure soul, that was going to heaven after enjoying a gentle, sweet death.

**The End**


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